Samurai Juku no Ai
by Sangha
Summary: An unexpected incident makes Mugen see Fuu in a different light. Now he wants her the ‘way of Mugen’. But Fuu’s not an easy target with Jin watching over her like a dog. There’s no other choice for Mugen. He needs to confront Jin! On his knees? MuFuu
1. Exasperating Episode

Author's Note: I decided to write both of my plots down, so welcome to the second one. I hope to finish both. Please read & review!

Disclaimer: I no own Samurai Champloo. I not even have own Mugen. Pity, pity. :D

Finally revised. Thanks to Caorann fridh Bronach for doing a wonderful beta-job!

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**Samurai Juku no Ai**

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Chapter One

**Exasperating Episode **

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"I hope she'll be back before night," Jin spoke, carrying wood for the fire inside. The usually stoic and taciturn samurai uncharacteristically voiced out his thoughts—much to his companion's annoyance.

"She needs to take care of herself," Mugen replied grumpily while he stared at the ceiling, doing nothing at all.

"Hm." Jin didn't think very differently, yet he was sick of Mugen's lazy-ass attitude and maybe—just maybe—he tried to kick off a little argument between the pirate and himself.

"Why don't you go and look for her if you're worried that much?" The man with the unruly hair furrowed one of his eyebrows and tried to reflect on a reason why he even thought about it.

Yes, he thought about why he thought and naturally, it confused him infinitely.

"Why don't _you_ do that?" Jin smartly questioned back and Mugen obviously angered.

"Because I don't want to," he snapped and crossed his arms and legs in front of him, sitting upright. "Why do you always send _me,_ anyways? Back there, when that freak showed up, you sent _me_ to save her scrawny ass. Why is it always me who has to do the no-fun things?"

"Wasn't it you they were looking for?" Verbally, Jin would beat the lunatic anytime.

"Yeah, but then you should have just said 'it's your duty'"—Mugen imitated his companion, who raised one threatening eyebrow at him—"instead of saying 'take care of Fuu.' Last I checked, I'm not responsible for her."

"Are you not responsible for Fuu when she is taken hostage because of you?"

Mugen thought about this question, or rather, tried to understand it at all. Failing in the end, he snorted and stood up. "You still talk like a pussy."

_Ding! Ding! Ding! Jackpot! The winner of the 'Who's smarter than Mugen'-contest: JIN. Congrats! _

Once the vagrant was outside, he kicked a tree trunk in anger and howled in evident pain, hopping around on one foot while he held the other. He cursed the tree and the trunk—yes, both—and wrathfully walked into the forest. Drawing his sword from his back, he began attacking the trees in the forest, but because of its obvious advantage in quantity, Mugen decided that it was best if he just muttered curses under his breath.

After a few seconds of walking, he had the weird feeling that he was lost. Had he ever been this far into this forest? Mugen scratched his chin and listened carefully. If he wasn't wrong, he could hear water. Inching slowly closer to the sound, he suddenly stopped with an interested expression on his face.

There was the shallowest portion of a lake, and within the hip-high water stood a woman. Unfortunately, she had her back to him, but her slim shoulders and thin waist were enough to make him drool a bit of salvia from the corner of his mouth. Mugen hid behind a tree and watched how the woman's fingers ran through her wet, shoulder-long, thick, brown hair. Her moist skin glistened in an orange glow from the light of the late sun as droplets of water slowly ran down her spine.

The pirate's eyes fastened on the surface of the water, just where it hid the rest of her body, and he swallowed the moistness in his mouth when she slowly turned around. Once he could see her front he couldn't help drifting his gaze upwards across her flat stomach and—hey!

Mugen gave a little snort of disappointment when she wasn't as large-breasted as he had imagined her. But he didn't give a shit in the end. He had passed the border from being choosy to just being horny already when his brain had registered the nakedness of her. Besides, he still liked what he saw. Well-shaped, round and delicious-looking womanly material was right in front of his eyes and he had to suppress the urge to make kneading-movements with his hands.

Oh, yes, he blessed his lucky life!

He shifted his gaze to look at her face—and gasped involuntary. His jaw dropped and Mugen closed it with a clacking sound of his teeth. But his jaw dropped once more and whenever he tried to shut his mouth, his jaw would drop all over again. The reason for his lacking ability in physical motor function was that the woman in the water was no other than Fuu.

"Shit." Deadpan. Well, after all, it was Fuu! _The_ Fuu.

Mugen clamped a hand across his mouth in order not to scream at the sudden realization. He quickly pressed his back against the tree trunk and counted to ten, hoping that she hadn't seen him.

"One, two… ten." He turned to check once again but this woman was still Fuu—little, nagging, sunflower Fuu.

Mentally, he cursed, but still, he just couldn't make his eyes look away from her chest-high region. So Fuu really wasn't that flat-chested. She had, he admitted to himself, some curves on her body and the very same made him feel a strange stirring in his own lower regions. Mugen's breathing became a little faster when she slowly started to wade out of the water.

Shit, he needed a better hiding place. Quickly, but on silent toes, he jumped into the next bush and peeked through the branches, watching when she finally left the water. Fuu grabbed for a towel and began drying off her body, not caring to wrap it around her. She didn't know about Mugen after all. Bad for her. Good for Mugen.

Clueless, she squeezed the water from out of her hair with the cloth before she threw it down next to her. The vagrant bit his inner cheek, in order to not jump out of his hiding place and rape her when he realized that even a bugging brat like Fuu had something to offer. His eyes stared at the area beyond her lower abdomen, making him bite his cheek even harder, while Fuu was busy dressing herself in her kimono. With a last glance upon the small lake she smiled, pleased with her bath, and left.

Mugen let out the breath he was still holding and grasped a hand to his heart, gripping the fabric of his white shirt tightly between his fingers. He wasn't sure if he would die of a heart attack. He had just discovered Fuu and that wasn't even the weird part. Worse was that he wanted to discover more of Fuu!

But—this was Fuu.

The first question he couldn't answer was _why_.

The second question he had no idea how to answer was what was wrong with him, and the third question was again simply _why_.

But the last question was not why but _WHY NOT,_ and strangely this question he could answer.

Why not?

Ten reasons why not leaving his fingers off Fuu:

1. Her cute, round ass.  
2. Her smooth, sexy spine.  
3. Her slender legs.  
4. Her slim waist.  
5. Her appealing, compact breasts.  
6. The fact that she actually had breasts.  
7. The fact that he wanted to touch them.  
8. The fact that she was a woman.  
9. The fact that Mugen was sure now she was indeed a woman.  
10. Breasts for free.

Those were reasons enough, weren't they? Mugen contemplated as he tried to free himself from leaves once he had crawled from out of the bush. He dusted himself off and slowly went back to the shack they were sleeping in. On his way he couldn't ban the image of naked Fuu from out of his head. Maybe he should have taken a bath himself. The cool water would have soothed his desperation.

"Shit, how have I gotten into this?" he asked himself and groaned silently.

But he remembered perfectly well. People say the fates are cruel and Mugen knew it was true. He wasn't even halfway out of Nagasaki when he had heard her scream. She really could scream loud but he had decided to ignore it. Then he had heard her scream again and it had seemed like the scream would never stop. He had tried covering his ears and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there had been silence.

But a thought had crossed his mind. Fuu had screamed and if Mugen had heard her scream, then Jin had probably heard it as well, and he had known the righteous ass-samurai would help her. It had sickened Mugen that Jin might prove that he was better than Mugen if Jin went after Fuu and rescued her. It had been frustrating!

The vagrant had emitted an annoyed yell and started to run.

He had been right. The girl had been in danger, and when Mugen had arrived, Jin had arrived as well. Both of them had killed the bastards trying to sell Fuu to yet another brothel and had decided that it would be better if they stuck together for the time being.

What the hell did "for the time being" mean? Until they were back in Edo? Mugen didn't even want to go back there, although it had been fun. The worst thing now was that he and Jin had come to a silent agreement. They had never talked about it, but they would leave her when she found the right man to be with for the rest of her life, one that would replace them in their job as bodyguards as well as one that would be a good husband.

Unluckily, Fuu wasn't very wise in her choice in men. Either they were psychos or artists or unsafe freaks. Besides, Mugen already had saved her a million times and more. Maybe he should just demand an adequate reward. Was that too much to ask?

He sighed.

"Shit," he mumbled. Yes, he wanted her but she was still Fuu, the one that he saved, trusted and…loved maybe…kinda. There was, he knew, some kind of affection for her in his soul.

The girl always tended to his wounds, faithfully trusted him, and never betrayed him. Apart from the silent freak-ass ronin, she was the only family Mugen had ever known. He might act like an ass towards her verbally, but if he did physically, then he would certainly despise himself. He had killed men but he had never forced women to do anything they didn't want—except when he had paid them for it, but that was another story.

There was only one possibility to 'have' Fuu the way he wanted her. She had to want _him_.

The next question popped up into Mugen's brain. _Did she want him?_ That one was difficult to answer. She usually did not act very sexual towards him. She never offered herself to him; rather, she seemed quite revolted if he came even close. But still she cared a lot when he was injured.

"Damn," he cursed and gritted his teeth.

There were so many questions and all the thinking gave him a headache.

To voice out his question would lead to talking and not just any talking, but unpleasant 'senti-metal' talking. He had no patience for something like this. Sometimes actions spoke louder than words, anyway, he thought and nearly smiled.

He had a plan.

Approaching the shack, he saw that Jin had obviously managed to light a small fire inside the hut, and judging by the sound of the babbling voice, Fuu was back. That was good. But in order to fulfill his plan, he needed to get rid of the ronin for once.

"Patience, Mugen, patience," he told himself, standing in front of the door that suddenly opened.

"Mugen." The girl quirked a suspicious eyebrow. "Are you talking to yourself?"

One corner of his mouth drifted upwards and he showed a toothy grin as visions of her naked body clouded his mind and made him obviously deaf. Whatever she was saying he didn't hear it.

"Mugen? Mugen!" Quickly, she became annoyed with the pirate not answering her at all (and his slimy smirk was very creepy, by the way). "Idiot!"

Fuu disappeared inside the shack, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" Jin knew it was probably just one of their usual arguments, but just to be sure, he asked. He was aware that the girl often was worried about their friend even though he annoyed her most of the time great deal.

"Oh…Mugen is being weird again," she told him, shrugging and kneeling down in front of the fire.

"Weird?" An eyebrow rose on the samurai's face with mistrust.

"Yeah, I think he's finally snapped," she said, holding her hand at the side of her mouth as if to block Mugen from hearing, knowing he was just outside the cottage. "He was grinning at me like a lunatic."

"Mh." To Jin there was no question about that one—Mugen was a lunatic but usually one that didn't grin at Fuu. Not if she wasn't in an embarrassing situation, for that matter. But he mentally shrugged. One never knew with Mugen. He might have just eaten some wild berries again.

Said pirate took a deep breath, ready for the kill—not literally, of course. He knew what he wanted, and he knew how to check if 'it' wanted him, too. With a little patience and some luck, he soon would have some sunflower-fun.

He snickered at his verbal masterpiece of how to call doing it with Fuu.

But he was still standing in front of the house, and he absolutely had no clue why. Was he hesitating? He shook his head at the idea and rubbed his sweaty hands. Hey, he wasn't nervous, was he? But shit, he was! This wasn't just any woman he tried to bed. This was one he actually liked more than just a bit. Okay, this sounded odd. As if he was in love with her! He wasn't. But what was he?

The feeling in his heart told him of great affection, devotion, and care.

Not love.

"Great. Now I've got a headache," he mumbled and stomped his foot on the ground, finally gathering the courage to enter. And so he did.

"Did you hear that?" Fuu whispered to Jin. "He's talking to himself again."

Mugen narrowed his eyes at her and was about to give her an earful, when suddenly visions of Fuu without her clothes flashed in front of his eyes, and he began to grin involuntarily.

"And now he's grinning again," she told Jin, who nodded. "Creepy, isn't it?"

"Very," the glasses-wearing man replied, nodding.

Well, maybe this would prove more difficult to Mugen than anything else he had ever done in his life. Affection was one thing, but desperation was the other, and somewhere on the way there he had lost his brain. To give a short summary: he had no clue what he actually came for, what he wanted, or what he did at all.

Slouching down on the ground, he turned and tried to gather some brain to form his plan anew.

Fuu looked at Jin with a worried expression. Either Mugen had gone insane or was sick, but both were giving her an unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach. She sighed and lay down to rest. Jin followed soon after, having an attentive ear—his eyes were closed, after all—on the pirate.

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End of chapter one.

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_A/N: Not much so far, but I hope you still like it. Please leave a little review for me to gain the motivation to continue! Thx. It'll become more interesting soon._


	2. The Perfect Plan

Note: _Sorry, it took me so long to update. Too many stories at once. Thanks for your many reviews! So many reviews on just the first chapter—I'd like to hug you all. Please keep reviewing!_

Thank you, Caorann-sensei, for being a great beta. Domo arigatou!

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**Samurai Juku no Ai**

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Chapter Two

**The Perfect Plan **

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A pair of dark grayish eyes watched the sleeping figure of a very young woman with interest. During her sleep, her chest was steadily rising and falling, and somehow the man watching her couldn't help imagine how her chest would look like without her stupid kimono. Yes, the man was no other than Mugen who had tried to get sleep with no success last night. Therefore his eyes looked sore and tired, but his blood boiled with passion and his heart beat with lust.

Definitely Mugen. Yup.

So he crouched on his heels, his knees supporting his arms, and watched Fuu from the moment the first ray of sunlight had arisen until now. Mugen couldn't tell how long that had been, but he supposed that, judging from the place of the sun, nearly an hour must have passed. He hadn't even spent the time staring at her pointlessly. No, he was seriously thinking. Really! And that's how his plan had arisen from the depths of his wits.

He would bed the sunflower-girl before she even realized it. The question was only if Jin realized what was on the ruffian's mind. Slowly, Mugen's pupils wandered to look at Jin, who still appeared to be sleeping. When his gaze shifted back upon Fuu, he was surprised to stare into two huge brown eyes, still a bit sleepily gazing, but filled with something he couldn't point his finger on.

Coming to Fuu's point of view, it should be mentioned that she wasn't just surprised, it freaked her out to the core. Opening her heavy eyelids, she saw a shadow hovering above her, and when she blinked her eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight, she was staring right into the pirate's tanned face. For the reason that Mugen just looked like Mugen, something between a monkey and a paranoid rapist, Fuu did the first thing that popped up in her mind, and what every sane woman in her position would do:

She screamed.

And boy, did she scream. The impact of the noise she was making knocked Mugen off his feet and out of his geta. He stumbled backwards and fell right on his behind, yelping in pain. Maybe it was just the shock, but the "stray dog" felt like howling and whimpering until he gathered back his senses and glared at Fuu.

Awakened by her high-pitched scream, Jin stood on his feet with his hand on his sword, ready to draw. He glared at the man on the ground, who looked more stupid than aggressive, then he quirked a questioning eyebrow at the girl, who had finally stopped screaming. She realized where she was and who was with her. It had been just Mugen.

It had been just Mugen? Wait a second, Fuu told herself and knotted her eyebrows. Just Mugen usually meant the pirate in safe distance preferably at the other end of the room. "What were you doing there?"

"Where?" Mugen scratched his neck and looked around bored.

"Why were you staring at me… _that close_?" Kneeling, she crossed her arms.

Jin was curious now too. Mugen wasn't one to trust but when it came to Fuu, she was the exception; Mugen never came that close to her. What was going on with the pirate? Jin's gaze literally pinned the other man. First pinned, then pierced, and having found nothing, his gaze turned simply puzzled. Mugen was no man to figure out easily if you had brains. If not, well, maybe then.

"I…" Now a good excuse would really help the man in question. Flower-chick glared. Four-eyes looked puzzled. And the squirrel seemed to shake its head at him. Damn it! No good. "There was a bug in your face."

"Ew! Where? Where? Where?" She started to hit herself as she shrieked and ran around the room.

That was close. Mugen's plan didn't include unnecessary scenes like this one. His plan was much better, much more complex and foolproof. Yup. Noticing that Jin's four eyes still focused him, Mugen frowned before he quickly staggered to his feet and left.

"I'll be looking for breakfast for us, 'kay?"

Shocked, Fuu and Jin turned to stare at the empty place where the pirate had been standing seconds ago. They looked at each other with stunned glances that turned into worry.

"Jin, I'm scared," she whispered.

"Me too," he replied and received a disapproving look from Fuu. "He never goes out for food and actually intends to bring us some too."

"I know what you mean. It's so scary." She shivered at the thought.

Meanwhile, Mugen had made it into the forest safely. What his companions didn't know was that there really was nothing to fear. He never intended to come back with food! It was all part of his plan. From the corner of his eyes, he checked left, then right, to make sure he was all alone. If someone saw him, he was screwed.

To his plan. During the night it suddenly hit him. After half the night pondering about his many possibilities, he came up with something so frigging ingenious that _she_ would soon be all over him. And it was so clear and easy: Fuu tended to his wounds. She bandaged him, touched him in the process, sometimes (even if unintentionally) caressed his skin, fed him if needed, and gave him everything he wanted. When Mugen was injured, she really cared for him in the sweetest ways possible.

The problem was Mugen was _not_ injured. But he could help himself a little and just cut himself. Drawing his sword he contemplated the place where he might stab his shapely body. Scars didn't matter as long as he was still as well-proportioned as before. He unclad his torso and inspected his body. On the right side there were already too many scars he didn't want to reopen. The left side was good.

Maybe _too_ good.

Mugen squeezed the flesh of his stomach. "Shit, I'm a hot hunk."

He squeezed his abs, then flashed some more muscles and finally clapped his own rear until he actually had forgotten what he had come for. He stuck out his bottom lip and thought. His original idea finally recalled, he jumped into the air with joy, then took hold of his sword. He lifted the blade up into the air and stopped.

"This won't work," he muttered absentmindedly. "Being one hell of a good fighter I might end up dead."

Mugen contemplated for awhile, but there wasn't much of a choice he had. It was decided. Killing himself or not, he would just take the risk. The image of the naked girl in his mind was reason enough for him to decide that it would be worth it. Raising his sword he aimed for his side and of course didn't fail to strike.

Jin looked up from the place he sat and meditated when a loud howl of pain rang through the forest. He pitied the animal that apparently was just being slaughtered.

"Gah, shit." The pirate covered his bleeding side with his hand as well as he could and tried to put on his uncommon-looking haori. He didn't sheath his sword, carrying it in his hand as he tried to find the way back to his companions. "How deep did I cut? I feel bloody dizzy."

Just to be on the safe side, Fuu had begun to collect some berries that would do if Mugen didn't bring anything for breakfast. Living with two useless bodyguards, she had learned that relying on them sometimes wasn't the best of ideas. She tried to count the things they were actually capable of. They could fight. They could… fight. And, well, they could fight. Raising one censorious brow, she passed by Jin and placed the berries she had found in a bowl.

When Fuu turned, she gasped. There was Mugen tumbling out of the forest, and if she didn't know better, she would have guessed he was drunk. But looking closer, she saw the big red pool of blood bathing his white shirt.

"Mugen!" She covered her mouth with her hands, and the bowl fell to the ground.

Quickly the girl scampered to his side and tried to help him walking. He accepted her help with no complaints, making Jin's eyebrow shoot up. The pirate could be famous for his refusal of help or medical care; therefore, even the dumbest samurai would have become suspicious. Good luck for Mugen that Fuu obviously was no samurai, and bad luck for Jin, who Fuu punished with one critical glance of misapprehension because he didn't help her. Slowly he rose and followed his comrades inside the hut.

"Ow, ow, ow." Mugen whined like a wolf in heat while Fuu was carefully helping him down to lay on the floor.

Swiftly she stood on her feet again and ran to get a cloth and water to clean the wound on the left side of his lower chest. After dabbing the cloth into the water she lifted Mugen's bloodstained white shirt and pressed the wet cloth against the bleeding wound.

"Ow, that hurts sooo much," he whined and writhed a little, just to make sure that she knew he was in pain, not enough to twist away from underneath her touch.

"What happened to you, Mugen?" Fuu asked with a frown of worry.

"Robbers! They attacked me!"

Jin's eyebrow twitched. Something definitely wasn't all right with their friend. _Mugen? Attacked by robbers? For what? His shorts? _And by Buddha's mercy Jin swore that, if Mugen was only half of the person Jin knew, the vagrant would have killed anyone attacking him! The matter reeked of crap to say it in Ryûkyûian.

"Oh my, they must have thought you had money," the girl pondered aloud.

Suddenly Mugen stilled, and a puzzled look crossed his face. He needed to come up with a better story. "I told them I had no money, but they still attacked me. Bloody bastards."

"Why didn't you kill them?" The deep rustle of Jin's voice made Mugen scowl.

"They were too many," he replied with a shrug, then yelped a little to make sure Fuu wouldn't stop tending to his wound.

"I see," Jin said with a nod of his head. "Surely you've killed at least one."

"I…" Contemplating his story over again, Mugen hesitated with his response. "I killed at least half of them, but there were dozens. Don't you believe me?"

"Where did it happen?"

"What? Ow! I…" Dramatically, Mugen clutched his hand to his shaking head and whimpered. "I can't remember. It friggin' hurts so much!"

"About those robbers, what did they look like?" Jin was sure now that their friend had either finally gone insane or made up things.

"Jin!" Glaring, Fuu waved a hand. She had enough of Jin behaving like an ass since Mugen apparently hadn't his lucky day, lying badly injured on the floor. "Would you stop this now? Mugen's obviously in pain, and you have nothing better to do than to ask stupid questions?"

The quiet samurai cringed inwardly but dropped the subject. He turned and left the hut silently.

"What's wrong with him?" Fuu mumbled more to herself than Mugen and shook her head, pitying the moaning man lying before her. "You'll get better soon. The cut isn't very deep. The blade hardly affected you seriously. You're lucky, Mugen, the idiot who hurt you wasn't a good fighter at all."

Mugen growled between gritted teeth, deeply offended, but Fuu admired him for his bravery. To her he visibly seemed to suppress the urge to show his pain.

Outside, Jin had gone into the forest, following Mugen's trail of blood. If Jin concentrated hard enough, he could even smell its scent. Reaching the end of the path, he frowned. He stood amidst trees and bushes, but not a single branch was devastated. That wasn't how Mugen usually left the battlefield. There was no trace of any battle at all, just as Jin had expected.

Not only was _this_ proof of the pirate's lies, but there was also something else Jin had noticed the first moment he had seen the other man lying in the hut. Even though he was being cut at his lower chest, there wasn't even a single scratch on his white shirt. Could a blade strike the skin underneath your clothes without leaving them ragged? Jin rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up in the process.

"Why the act, Mugen?" he muttered quietly, looking back into the direction of the shack. "Are you deceiving us?"

Dozens of men had fought the pirate. At least, that's what he had told his friends. That, and that he had killed at least half of them. Jin wondered since when it was possible to kill without leaving corpses. There were absolutely none! Why would Mugen make up such a huge lie? The pirate was a rude man but not a liar. Moreover, his blatant honesty was hard to handle most of the time. He talked a lot and whatever he thought his mind gave away. Making up lies afforded too much brains.

Jin could only come up with two explanations. The vagrant ended up stabbed in the most embarrassing situation ever—whatever that might be—Jin's imagination didn't reach very far beyond reality. It was also possible that Mugen cut himself, but that was hardly imaginable; unless he was forced to do that. Who could force that man to do that? And why would Mugen give in? Was he really deceiving his comrades?

It was hardly conceivable. Still, the fact was that Mugen lied in one way or another, and therefore, he wasn't the safest of people to trust. Additionally, anywhere near the pirate wasn't the safest place to be. Consequently, at the very moment Fuu didn't seem to be secure alone with that man. Not wasting one more thought, Jin headed back to the small hut.

"That's done," Fuu said with a wry smile once she had bandaged Mugen's wound. "Take off your shirt, will you? I want to wash it clean before the blood dries."

Fantastic. Everything was working according to the pirate's plan. Cringing, he lifted his upper body and tried to get rid of his gi and shirt. That Mugen ever had problems undressing, he would have never guessed days before. Now he was doing that in a purposefully complicated manner, wincing with every little move he made. But that was all part of the plan! Of course Fuu's heart went out to him, and she helped him pulling the shirt over his ruffled head, brushing his skin here and there with her fingertips. Mugen was sure she wouldn't be able to resist him, once she had touched his striking frame!

The girl quickly headed outside for the well where she washed out the shirt and hung it on a wooden stick that was attached to the shack. Inside, Mugen let himself fall flat on his back, smirking. It was a good thing that Jin had gone, leaving him alone with his sunflower bride. Mugen might be wounded now, but the most important functions of body still worked fine to hundred percent. Yes, he was very pleased with himself.

When Fuu entered the hut again, his smirk quickly changed into a dreadful frown. "Bring me some water, yeah?"

She didn't hesitate and brought a small bowl with cold water, lifting it for him to take. But Mugen shook his head with a painful groan, propping himself up on his elbows. "Can't…do."

"Oh, well…here." She lifted the bowl to his lips and let him drink the fresh water.

The first time she had helped Mugen, after he had ended up injured in battle, it had been very awkward. Later, she bravely adjusted into the situation of taking care of _both_ her two samurai bodyguards. It was the least she could do after they had saved her life so often. This time it didn't feel any different at all. Hell, she had had to make them drink water for one whole week when they had been unconscious.

Yet, back then, Mugen had had at least two life-threatening wounds and three other places on his body bleeding. Now he just had one cut and behaved like a little child. But hadn't the elder women always told her that men were wimps? Fuu guessed that after all Mugen wasn't that different. Just a man. In Fuu's mind women were the stronger gender, anyway. She had evidence every day since she lived with two good-for-nothings.

One thing was strange, though. Wounded or not, Mugen typically disliked to be mothered by Fuu. Well, she guessed even he grew more and more accustomed to their current situation and their lives together.

The gurgling sound of water abruptly pulled the girl from her thoughts, and she realized that she was about to drown Mugen with the water from the bowl. Quickly, she set the bowl down and took the sleeve of her kimono to dab at the corners of his mouth. He coughed brutally all the while. It never seemed to stop. Fuu nervously smiled at him with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"You trying to kill me?" He gawked at her once he had calmed down from his coughs.

Fuu bit her bottom lip trying to come up with something that explained her daydream. "I just…aaah, sorry, it was an accident."

Mugen could have giggled at how his ingenious plan was working, and he could have grinned at her stupid explanation for her daydream. He had seen that look on her face, and he was sure that she was already further undressing him in her mind. He just knew when a woman wanted him! The glazed look in her eyes, the small mouth slightly opened, and her body bending towards him. But how could he have known that reality was so very far from that?

"What?" Fuu asked when she caught him staring at her. Something was different about the way he was looking at her; he had never looked at her like this. However, she couldn't read the look in his eyes. Still, it didn't disturb her too much. She knew Mugen; she had never been afraid of him. But nevertheless, she became slowly nervous under his intense stare. If he were any other guy, apart from Jin that was, she would have blushed in an awfully deep red color.

What was going on in that pretty head of hers, Mugen wondered and smirked inwardly, keeping his outer casual self. He was pinning her with his eyes, looking so intently that she couldn't even move, and he damn well knew it! Not that this always worked for him on women, but that was not important right now. Important was that it worked on Fuu. Slowly the man inched closer to the girl.

Fuu gazed rather dumbfounded into Mugen's face. She had seen him often, every day, sometimes even at night, and he always looked…funny. His whole appearance drifted between an ugly rooster and a cute monkey. He had attractive features, but combined with his usual self he didn't appear eye-catching to her. Why did she think about this anyway? Was it because he was so close? And why the hell was he so close?

_Close! _

Fuu's eyes widened, but at the same moment she found his lips crashing on hers. It felt like the world had stopped, but Mugen definitely moved. Hell, she could feel that he moved. Why couldn't she move? She was just staring, wide-eyed, in shock. He groaned when she didn't respond to his kiss. Okay, he knew she was inexperienced, but he still had hoped that she would somehow respond. But well, what did it matter to him? He would finally have her!

Increasing pressure, the former pirate began with what he called "the way of Mugen." His left arm snaked around her waist and held her in a tight grip. He heard her gasp, but he didn't care and kept his lips glued on hers. He used his right hand to grab her neck—it'd help to guide her to his intentions. He kept his assault on her mouth, desperately trying to gain access with his tongue. Damn! He cursed in his mind when he failed, trying harder to make her open up!

The moment one of his arms gripped Fuu's waist, her eyes blinked, and her mind gathered what was happening. Mugen was kissing her, and he was kissing her forcefully. Fuu kept her mouth shut, feeling his lips and tongue on her—_how disgusting! _Goosebumps started to build on every part of her skin, and she shuddered. Like in slow motion she lifted her hands and pressed with her palms against the man's shoulders. But Mugen didn't move, he was too strong, and she struggled to get him off of her. To no avail, panic overcame her.

The look of horror in her wide opened eyes changed into one of pure anger when her brows furrowed, and a dark shadow narrowed her naturally bright eyes. Her fingers reached out to get a hold on Mugen's ear, and gripping it tightly she twisted it around. A howl of pain, worse than his from cutting himself, filled the room's silence and shook the wood. He let go of the girl and clutched his purple-turning ear.

Fuu used this opportunity to move away from him, but when he looked up at her with mad eyes, she gulped. She knew those mad eyes, but that wasn't even the scary part. There was lust playing within the depths of this beast's eyes. A cold shiver ran down her spine as pure and utter fear wracked her nerves. In her state of alarm and helplessness she did the only thing that came into her mind.

She screamed, and loudly.

Mugen emitted an annoyed deep growl. She was only adding fuel to the fire. He liked it rough. Grinning, he turned to face her and inched closer again. Fuu felt trapped and cornered. In shock and not knowing what better to do, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across his face.

"Why, you little…" he rasped, smirking as her fingerprints appeared on his stinging cheek.

"What's wrong with you?" she shouted into his face and clutched her hands against her chest in a defensive way.

"What's wrong with YOU?" was his only retort. Truth be told, Mugen didn't know why she was freaking out that much. It wasn't as if he wanted to rape her. He'd never treat her like a whore. She was, after all, he admitted it to himself, too precious to him to ever do such thing. Other women were another story. But Fuu? He would never hurt her, and part of him was offended that she reacted repulsed by him that much. All he wanted to do was to make her squeal his name in ecstasy while he passionately fucked her brains out. Was that so hard to understand?

Suddenly he snorted, then lowly growled, "I'll make you want me, bitch."

Fuu's eyes widened, almost popping out of her head. Mugen had never, never ever talked to her like that, and for the first time she was seriously intimidated by him. She was used to him calling her "bitch" or "wench" or any other insult, but his impious snarl made her body tremble. Could this really be the same Mugen she had traveled with, cried for, and called a friend? Her heart beat heavy and fast, as the tears stung behind her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Don't make me slice you, Mugen," Jin's calm voice interrupted the scene.

Gasping, Fuu turned to see Jin holding the blade of his sword very close to Mugen's throat. Neither she nor Mugen had noticed their comrade's entrance. She couldn't help but feel relieved, even though the tension inside the room grew with Jin's firm threat.

"What's going on here?" the stoic samurai questioned. He had been just on his way back from the forest to question Mugen's motives when he had heard the very same man's howl of pain, followed by a loud scream from the girl. Jin hurried to see what was wrong, and when he entered the room, all he saw were his friends shouting at each other before Mugen said something really outrageous about her making him want him. That, and the look of horror in her face was enough for Jin to realize that this was none of their usual arguments. Fuu was actually scared of Mugen.

Wild-eyed but calm, Mugen looked from the blade that was pointed at him to the man who dared to oppose him. He didn't like Jin interfering his business with Fuu, and he hated when someone threatened him, no matter who it was.

But he smirked. "You better point your sword at someone else, 'cause you might end up hurt."

"Fuu,"—Jin didn't budge when he turned his question at the girl—"what did he do?"

"I did nothing, got that?" Mugen yelled when he was ignored. Ignorance was on his list of dislikes right behind taking orders and inferring with his business. Besides, he _really_ didn't do anything so far, and if he did, this was none of fish-face's business.

"Nothing?" Fuu suddenly shrieked, glaring at the pirate. "You did _nothing_? So kissing me is nothing for you? I don't even want to imagine what you'd have done if Jin hadn't stopped you! What's gotten into you?"

"Argh…shut up!" he shouted, shifting his gaze back at Jin, who still hadn't pulled his sword away.

"I see," Jin voiced quietly, glaring at Mugen. He had expected the pirate's betrayal, but not that he would do it by harassing Fuu sexually. Even that lunatic of a man should have more morals than to act this low. "Why are you deceiving us?"

"What?" Irritated, Mugen glared in fury. Deceiving _us_? Was there something going on between the two of them? It didn't matter. He had enough, enough of Fuu's refusal and Jin's smart-assed assumptions. No one dared to threaten Mugen like that. Doing a quick backwards-flip and a little twist, he grabbed for his sword lying on the ground and faced Jin.

There was no hesitation when Mugen attacked. His intention wasn't to kill Jin, but feeling trapped by the silent man, Mugen's mind lost control over his emotions. He was offended, disturbed, and angered. Fuu rejected him, Jin came up with weird accusations, and both of them were clearly against him. Since he had grown with the saying that attacking was the best defense, he did just that, and that was what he did best, after all.

Jin dodged Mugen's blind hits of rage; in return, Mugen dodged Jin's half-hearted strikes in defense. In no time they had destroyed half of the cottage, but their swords couldn't make a single hit on the other. Their blades clashed loudly during their battle that soon continued outside. Too scared to act, Fuu stayed inside the hut. Whatever this meant, she didn't like it at all.

"Why did you lie?" Jin suddenly questioned as both men glared at each other. "You were never attacked by anyone in the forest."

Mugen's eyes narrowed even further hearing that. He didn't want to answer; he just wanted to strike. He aimed for his opponent with new found drive.

"Tell me, are you deceiving us?" Jin asked after he had successfully avoided another strike.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Mugen yelled back as their fight continued across the field outside. They both fought, twisting and turning, as fast as they could, and it slowly wore them out. But they wouldn't stop, neither of them willing to give up.

"How did you really get your wound?" Jin panted. He would never admit it, but Mugen's seemingly unnecessary movements left him struggling to keep up with the former pirate.

"That's none of your fucking business!" Mugen hid behind a tree before he attacked once again. Jin was quick, and if he had enough space, he would be in advantage. That's why Mugen tried to lead their fight into the woods. He became unnerved by Jin's questions that held so much damned truth in them. How could that bastard know?

It didn't matter. Mugen had no intention of telling the truth whatsoever—maybe it was just too embarrassing.

"That's unacceptable," Jin said, trying harder to beat his rival. He had noticed that the more rage Mugen put into his fighting, the better he got. But if Mugen would pass the border of rational rage, it would turn into blind fury, and that was how Jin could beat him. He had to provoke the pirate even harder.

Mugen jumped onto some rocks and back down on the path that led into the forest, preparing for his final attack. He didn't want to hear another word from that silent ass-samurai.

"Why did you kiss Fuu?" was Jin's next question. In all of Mugen's doings there had to be some connection, but where? So far Jin couldn't tell.

Mugen suddenly slipped, and Jin didn't miss it. But instead of aiming for his final attack, he wanted to probe further. What was it about Fuu that Mugen kept secret?

"Where does your sudden interest in her come from?"

Mugen wanted to cover his ears, wanted to block out whatever Jin said about Fuu. Instead he shouted because it made him temporarily feel better: "Shut the fuck up about your breastless girlfriend and fight!"

Jin smirked, any facial expression a rare thing for him to do. He blocked the ruffian's aim, twisting around too fast for any eyes to see, but he still could not beat Mugen, who had already jumped backwards. They fought pointlessly, and Jin knew it, and also the fact that he had hit a raw nerve in his friend when he had mentioned his interest in the girl. It slowly dawned on Jin, even though it didn't make any sense at all. Why did Mugen freak out, calling her Jin's girlfriend? If Jin didn't know better, he'd say that the pirate was jealous. But that would hardly be believable. What would that criminal want with someone as innocent as Fuu?

Whatever it was, Jin would use it for his advantage. From the corner of his glasses-covered eyes, he saw Mugen ready for another attack, and Jin didn't have to wait long.

"Are you in love with Fuu?" Precisely like a stab with his sword, Jin timed his question at Mugen.

And Mugen, he stumbled. For a split of a second he looked lost like a young boy, but it didn't last long because immediately his face made contact with the tree. The pain didn't bother him much, though, and quickly he turned to face his challenger, his nose bleeding and with many tiny scrapes across his left cheekbone. Disoriented, if just for the tiniest of a moment, Mugen was no rival for Jin. In vigor Jin disarmed the vagrant whose eyes widened. His back was against the tree, his front facing the sharp blade of the samurai's sword. There was no escaping this time.

"I see," Jin calmly said, gazing blankly as if he had not a care in the world.

It raged the other man even more. He was defeated, but Jin handled him like he was one of those dojo-boys he could teach how to fight. Mugen was nothing like that; he was born wild, free, and rough. Surviving taught him skills in sword fighting. And Mugen only knew one thing when someone pointed a sword against another: it's either kill or be killed. His fury wracked his whole body.

"What are you waiting for, bastard?" he shouted, the glare never leaving his features. "Do it, kill me."

Jin closed his eyes and pulled away his sword, sheathing it casually. Opening his eyes, they fastened on Mugen. Jin could see that he was even more angered than before, first with his defeat, now from his rival's mercy. But Jin only smirked.

"I never intended on killing you," he said and slowly turned his back at Mugen. "If you're ready to tell me what's going on with you, speak. Otherwise, stay away from Fuu."

Watching Jin walk away in calm, steady steps, Mugen clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "That bastard."

Jin had defeated Mugen, but both of them knew that this would have never happened if the Ryûkyûian had had his emotions in control. He cursed his comrade and slid down the tree, sitting on the ground. He was screwed. So what could he do? He closed his eyes, feeling the swell on his face pounding. It was funny, really. After all the times they had been through, Mugen was defeated just because that ass-samurai mentioned Fuu.

_Fuu…_

A decision would have to be made. Did Mugen still want her or not? If Jin ordered him to stay away, he wanted to make her his even more. But if Jin kept watching over her like a dog, and Mugen couldn't keep his rage in check, there was no way to achieve the affection of that damned girl. There were only two options left; either he defeated the other man in battle, or he could convince Jin to join forces with him.

"Damn," Mugen muttered. Joining forces with Jin sounded more than just odd. But defeating him, perhaps even killing him, wouldn't do the pirate any good. Fuu would hate him, and the only way to have her then would be with force.

He could give up on her, but there was no way Mugen could stay with the two of them and act like nothing had happened if he just gave up. Male pride didn't allow him to do that. Besides, he never gave up unless death stopped him. No, he would have her, no matter what it cost. The question was how.

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End of chapter two.

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_A/N: The end isn't as funny, eh? Well, I promise more fun in the next chapter! Stay tuned for what Mugen will do!_


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